We have devised new diketopyrrolopyrrole dyes soluble in polar solvents. The colors of the dyes have been changed by substituting the 3,6-phenyl residues for thiophene groups. The solubility in polar solvents has been improved by alkylation of a dimethylaminopropyne fragment with a 1,3-sultone giving rise to sulfobetaine moieties. These dyes exhibit strong and broad absorption in the visible range (488 nm for the phenyl-DPP and 578 nm for the thiophene-DPP) and intense fluorescence at, respectively, 554 nm (Φ_F 0.36) and 609 nm (Φ_F 0.19). The phenyl-DPP dye exhibits a maximum broad band lasing efficiency of 14.6% and a maximum narrow band lasing efficiency of 9.5% with a wide tunable range (554 nm to 616 nm) on excitation with a second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG (532 nm) laser in MeOH/H₂O. The lasing efficiency remains unaffected for hours. The thiophene-DPP dye does not show any lasing action.